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Known as the cradle of Western civilisation, the European continent is a conglomeration of around 50 states which is the second-smallest of the seven in geographical surface area, and the third most highly populated after Asia and Africa. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, its boundaries have been expanding gradually eastwards as more countries become absorbed into the European Union, while its western boundary is clearly defined by the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans which separate it from the Americas. Although the traditional division between Asia and Europe occurs at the Ural Mountains, the Ural River and Caspian Sea, and the Bosporus and Dardanelles, there are several countries considered both part of Europe and Asia, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey. Of all of its states, Russia is the largest and the Vatican City the smallest.

In terms of its prehistory, it is clear that Homo erectus and Neanderthals (resident in Germany) migrated from Africa to Europe prior to evolving as modern humans, Homo sapiens, in around 35,000BC. The remains of the earliest of these settlers is to be found in Georgia, while important archaeological sites of the Neolithic period are located in Italy. Speeding through the millenia, traces of the first civilized cultures in the region are those of the Minoans on the island of Crete and later the Myceneans in nearby Greece, in around 2,000 BC.

And all the rest is history, shaped by an awe-inspiring and colourful cast of kings and emperors, popes and generals, philosophers and scientists, who have left their mark in the wonderful towns and cities which still celebrate the glorious heritage of bygone ages: London, Paris, Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Seville, Venice, Vienna and Prague- to name but a few. Immerse yourself in european history as you embark on your tour. The Classical architecture of ancient Greece and Rome is embodied in the structures of the Parthenon in Greece and the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Great examples of Romanesque architecture are to be found in France and England, while the soaring walls and elegant arches and tracery of the Gothic reach are most sublime in the cathedrals of France, England and Germany. Italy is famous for its wonderful Renaissance art and architecture, while the Baroque and Rococo extravaganzas in Austria and southern Germany are a feast for the eyes. Born from the industrial revolution, the Modern Movement has its roots in the sleek rational forms of prefabricated construction elements and was nurtured in the Bauhaus School in Germany. The Scandinavian countries of Norway, Finland and Sweden were home to modernist masters searching meanwhile for a warmer, more vibrant alternative to the austere functionalism championed elsewhere.

Manarola, an Italian fishing village

Whether you are cruising around the fjords or climbing the Eiffel Tower, skiing in the Alps or walking up the steps to St. Peter’s, living the dream in St. Tropez or seeing London from a double decker bus, there are endless opportunities for sampling the buzz of the inner city with its state-of-the-art sophistication, or escaping to snow-capped mountains, green rolling hills, country gardens and sun-kissed beaches.

En route you will need to refresh yourself with frequent stops at cafés and patisseries, pubs and taverna in order to partake of the local cuisine, whether it be roast beef or stroganoff, goulasch or bourgignon, bistec or carpaccio.

Many tourist paths are well-trodden and well-documented, but for those in search of the unusual and undiscovered, those countries formerly shrouded behind the iron curtain now offer the traveller a different flavour within easy reach: seek out Poland, Estonia and Latvia and get a new perspective on Europe.